'Lord of the Rings', 'Avatar', 'Titanic': 20 greatest Hollywood epics

With The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey luring the masses back to the vast landscape of Middle-earth and Lawrence of Arabia recently getting a digitally-restored run on the big screen, it's a perfect time to look at the Hollywood epics that have previously taken cinemas by storm.

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Lawrence of Arabia (1962)David Lean's masterpiece starred Peter O'Toole as the emotionally torn British army officer T.E. Lawrence. The widely acclaimed epic was recently re-released, allowing a new generation to sample the beauty of Maurice Jarre's sweeping score and Freddie Young's cinematography in 70mm.
Copyright: Rex Features Everett Collection
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An ambitious scope, ensemble cast, lavish costumes and exorbitant budget tend to be the key facets of the genre, with Peter Jackson and James Cameron masterminding big-scale movies over the last two decades. Go back a little further, however, and you'll find movies of majestic sweep like Doctor Zhivago, Gone with the Wind and Ben Hur. Even Kevin Costner threw his hat in the ring when he made Dances with Wolves and Waterworld (best not mention The Postman).

Digital Spy selects 20 of the biggest and best that Hollywood has to offer in our 'epics' gallery above.